Park Hill

SAMUEL GOODIN BARRETT (1812 – 1876)

Reproduced by kind permission of April and Robert Assheton Barrett©

SAMUEL GOODIN BARRETT

Baptised in Firbeck in the County of York 7th  March 1813

Son of SAMUEL BARRETT and MARGARET GILLIES PARKHILL, FIRBECK, YORKSHIRE.

Baptism record of Samuel Goodin Barrett from Firbeck Parish Register

Reproduced with kind permission from the Borthwick Institute for Archives, The University of York.

From this single line entry in Firbeck’s Parish Register an amazing story has evolved starting in the 17th century when Hercie Barrett left England for Jamaica. There follows the rise and fall of the sugar trade, disputes over land and slaves and close links with Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Samuel Goodin Barrett’s second cousin.

A further twist to the tale is that there is another notable entry in the Parish Register, the baptism of MARY WILLIAMS in 1814, daughter of MARTIN AND MARY WILLIAMS of Bryngwyn, Montgomeryshire. To have a child baptised in Firbeck must surely mean the family were living in the village, but where? We know that Firbeck Hall was owned by Henry Gally Knight (1786 -1846) at this time, so the only other place a gentleman could be living would be Park Hill, except this was the residence of the Barrett family. So were the Williams there as well and were they friends, or relations?

Some intensive research involving tracking down surviving members of the Barrett family, communications with the Wedgestone Press, an independent publisher specialising in books on Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning at Baylor University, Texas and exploring family history internet sites in Jamaica have revealed an intriguing story. At first it was a huge muddle with seemingly unconnected pieces of information which didn’t make sense, for instance everyone seemed to be called Samuel, Edward or Elizabeth Barrett, even Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s brother and uncle were called Samuel Barrett, but they were not the Samuel Barrett who rented Park Hill and who had a child called Samuel Goodin Barrett.

Samuel Goodin Barrett and Elizabeth Barrett Browning both descended from the marriage between Edward Barrett (1734 – 1798) and Judith Goodin (1741 – 1804), they were their common great grandparents.

Edward and Judith’s daughter Elizabeth (1763 -1830) married Charles Moulton (died 1819). Elizabeth and Charles Moulton’s son, Edward Barrett Moulton (1785-1857) was the father of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Edward and his brother Samuel changed their surname to Barrett by His Majesty’s Royal licence, at the wish of their grandfather, in order to inherit the estates in Jamaica.

Edward and Judith’s son Samuel (1765 – 1794) who became a Lieutenant and Captain in the 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, formed a union with Elizabeth Barrett Waite Williams (1754- 1834) after her marriage to Martin Williams (1723 -1786) of Jamaica failed. It has been suggested that Captain Samuel Barrett and Elizabeth Williams married secretly in York, but to have made this known would have meant Elizabeth would have lost guardianship of her four children by Martin Williams.

Captain Samuel Barrett and Elizabeth Williams had four sons, one of whom was also called Samuel (1788 – 1824) known as ‘Handsome Sam’, he married Margaret Gillies Storey and rented Park Hill, Firbeck for several years.

 ‘Handsome Sam’ Barrett

 Their first child Samuel Goodin Barrett was born in 1812 and Samuel wrote his will at Park Hill in 1815, after the birth of a second child, Henrietta Willoughby Barrett.

 Elizabeth Barrett Waite Williams and Martin Williams had a son called Martin (1782 – 1856) who married Mary Maddocks in 1811 and their first child, a daughter Mary, was baptised in the Parish of Firbeck in 1814. Thus the link between Samuel Barrett of Park Hill and Martin Williams is explained, they were half-brothers.

The simplified family tree below shows the direct relationship between Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Samuel Goodin Barrett and Mary Williams.

 Park Hill, Firbeck (now demolished) Reproduced by kind permission of Julia Colver ©

The earliest references to Park Hill are from the 17th Century when the estate was owned by the Saunderson family, it was known as Gowk-Hill, the hill of the cuckoo. In 1665 it was sold to Nonus Parker who changed the name of the estate to Park Hill. In 1765 the estate was bought by Col. Anthony St Leger (1731 – 1786) who later acquired the estate and Manor of Laughton. In 1786 after the death of Col. St Leger the estate passed to his nephew John Hayes St Leger (1765 – 1800) who died in Madras, India in 1800. The estate then passed to John Hayes St Leger’s brother Anthony Butler St Leger (1759 – 1821). The 1861 census return shows that Anthony Butler St Leger’s son, Anthony Francis Butler St Leger was living at Park Hill House at that time. It was offered for sale by Major Arthur John Bonfoy St Leger in 1909. Park Hill House was demolished around 1934-35.

Presumably Park Hill House was let out during the years John Hayes St Leger and his brother Anthony Butler St Leger owned it, but how did Samuel Barrett and his wife Margaret, his half-brother Martin Williams and his wife Mary find this house in the secluded village of Firbeck?

 Reproduced by kind permission of April and Robert Assheton Barrett ©

 Susanna Maria Bell (1816 – 1904)

 Samuel Goodin Barrett married Susanna Maria Bell, known as ‘Maria’ in 1835. When Samuel and Maria left England for Jamaica in 1844 Maria left Elizabeth Wilson, who was in her service, to become a personal lady’s maid to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, she signed the register at Elizabeth and Robert’s marriage and in 1846 went with them to Italy.

Elizabeth and Robert Barrett Browning

Disputes over family wills, the abolition of slavery and the fall in the price of sugar add to the story of the Barretts of Jamaica. In 2000 Robert Assheton Barrett wrote a book called ‘The Barretts of Jamaica’ the family of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, published by the Wedgestone Press. We may never have known that Firbeck plays a small part of that story except for the entries in the Parish Register.

With grateful thanks to the Friends of Firbeck Hall for the loan of this article.